Marking control system for dictation machines



June 16, 1942.

H. P. CLAUSEN MARKING CONTROL SYSTEM FOR DICTATION MACHINES Filed Jan.13, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Henry F Clause June 16, 1942. 'H. P.CLAUSEN MARKING CONTROL SYSTEM FOR DICTATION MACHINES Filed Jan. 13,1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 AH-s.

Patented June 16, 1942 MARKING CONTROL SYSTEM FOR DICTATION MACHINESHenry P. Clausen,

The Gray Manufacturing Company,

White Plains, N. Y., assignor to Hartford,

Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application January 13, 1941, SerialNo. 374,163

9 Claims.

This invention is concerned with improvements in dictation machines withparticular relation to the marking device by whch the dictator andtranscriber may note corrections and other information with regard tothe recorded dictated matter.

'The general object of this invention is the provision of a markingapparatus and controlmechanism therefor to be associated with adictation recording machine either adjacent the machine or remote withrespect thereto.

An object of this invention is the provision of a combination of thistype in which the marking apparatus is operated both in a forward or ina reverse direction in timed relation with the relative motion. betweenthe record tablet and the recording head so as to indicate theirrelative position at all times.

A further object of the invention is the provision of relatively simpleapparatus of this nature so constructed that in the event the dictatorback spaces the recording platen machine a visible indication and guideis provided so that he may reset the machine to its initial positionwhen he is ready to proceed with his dictation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an automatic controlwhereby during the back spacing period the recording device-is held offthe record'tablet until the recording device gets back to the positionfrom which back spacing began.

Additionalobjects will be apparent from the following description whentaken in connection with the attached drawings.

This invention resides substantially in the combination, construction,arrangement and relative location of parts, as will be described indetail below.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of one form of mechanism in accordancewith this invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged front elevational view of a detail of theinvention; and

Figure 3 is an end elevational view of the mechanism of Figure 2.

At the outset it may be noted that this invention is particularlyapplicable to the type of sound recording or dictation recording machineof the type disclosed in the copending application of Barton A. Proctorand Ferdinand C. W. Thiede, Serial No. 218,082, filed July 8, 1938. Asdiagrammatically disclosed herein, and in full detail in the abovementioned application, the

recording machine is of the type employing a thin disc of celluloseacetate initially smooth on both sides and adapted to have formed orimpressed thereon a sound record groove beginning near the center of thedisc and gradually increasing in diameter spirally to the peripherythereof. As will be clear as the description proceeds, the inventionherein disclosed is not limited, however, to use with a machine of thistype since it may readily be employed with the type of sound recordingmachine using a wax cylinder.

The general combination herein disclosed is similar to that set forth inmy copending application Serial No. 371,069 filed December 21, 1940, butincludes other practical features as will appear below.

In the design of a marking apparatus for dictation recording machine,and particularly in the case where the thin cellulose acetate disc isemployed as the record tablet, difiiculties are presented because of thevariation in radial extent of the record convolutions for a given numberof words. To state it another way, the number of convolutions of recordrequired for one hundred words at the beginning of the record, that isadjacent the center thereof, is about twice the radial extent of thenumber of convolutions necessary to record one hundred words near theperiphery of the record tablet. In the form of "marking system disclosedin my above mentioned application there is disclosed the fact thatbecause of these variations the indicating and marking apparatus willhave a similar variation in its movement thereby requiring a record tabor sheet graduated in a gradually decreasing scale. This practicalcondition when taken together with the fact that the radial extent ofthe complete record ,on a record disc is relatively short, that isslightly over three inches in the case of the machine disclosed in theapplication of Proctor and Thiede referred to above, presents a problemwhich is relatively unfavorable as compared with a similar problem asapplied to dietating machines using wax cylinders where the longitudinalextent of the adjacent convolutions of the record for a given number ofwords is uniform. As will appear later, the invention herein disclosedovercomes these difliculties when used with the machine of the type setforth, but is nevertheless equally practical for use with the waxcylinder type of machine.

In accordance with this invention the marking apparatus is so related tothe dictation recording machine that it is automatically operated bothforwardly and in reverse so asto at all times give an instantaneousindication of the relative recording head 23 position between the recordplaten and the recording head. The marking and indicating apparatus isso constructed as to operate over a uniformly ruled chart. More specificobjects of the invention will 'be described as the description proceeds.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, there is indicateddiagrammatically only so much of the machine as disclosed in full detailin the above mentioned Proctor and Thiede application as to make clearthe invention herein disclosed. As shown, the machine includes acarriage 4 which is mounted for sliding movement on guide rodsorsupports 5. Journaled on the carriage is a vertical spindle I whichterminates at its upper end in a toothed member 2 upon which the recorddisc 3 is impaled so that, they rotate together. Mounted on the spindleI is a worm wheel 6 which meshes with a threaded shaft "I connected tothe carriage 4 while being able to rotate with respect thereto. Thethreaded shaft 1 is engaged by a fixed nut 8 so that as the shaftrevolves it, as well as the carriage 4, moves longi-.

tudinally on the supportingrode 5, depending upon the direction ofrotation of the shaft 1; At

9 and ID are a pair of friction wheels positioned so as to engage therecord disc 3 on opposite sides thereof. The lower wheel l9 driven froma suitable power source, not shown, engages the disc at all times,"while the upper wheel 9 is mounted on a yoke, not shown, so that when itis desired to rotate the record disc it is swung down into engagementtherewith over the wheel It]. By this means the record disc 3 is causedto revolve and with it the spindle l and the worm wheel 6. Rotation ofthe worm wheel causes rotation of shaft 1, and as a result the carria e4 travels along the rods 5. The sound which may be of the piezoelectriccrystal type, has a stylus adapted to engage the upper surface of thedisc 3, and will, of course, in accordance with usual practice, beconnected to a microphone or other sound converting device. The thinflexible disc 3 is backed up opposite the stylus by means of a hardenedrotatable platen or anvil wheel H. To start recording with this machinethe carriage 4 is shifted to the extreme right so that the stylus of thesound recorder engages the disc 3 at a point near its center. As thewheels 9 and I revolve the disc 3, the carriage 4 moves slowly to theleft so that a spiral record groove is impressed on the disc in the formof a plurality of adjacent convolutions gradually increasing in diameterat the rate of about 0.01 inch per turn.

On the lower end of spindle l is a contact l2 adapted to engage thecontact l3 mounted on the carriage 4 and insulated therefrom once foreach revolution of the spindle. The carriage 4 is grounded as indicated.Contact I3 is connected by wire l4 through a normally closed switch l toone terminal of the electro-magnei 6. The other terminal of this magnetis connected by wire H to the ungrounded terminal of a grounded feederor current source I 8. Magnet Ili when energized operates a pawl l9engaging a ratchet wheel secured to the end of a threaded shaft 2| inthe marking apparatus.

The shaft 2! is journaled in suitable supports.

not shown in order to keep the disclosure as' simple as possible. Uponeach energization of magnet IS the pawl I 9 causes shaft 2i to have anincrement of rotation in one direction.

A support 22 is slidably mounted on the rods 25 and either has a passagetherethrough or is placed on the spindle l to a position where the KAlso slidably mounted on the rods 25 is a support 21 for the markingdevices 28 and 29. This support is shown in more detail in Figure 3. Itis of L shape, the horizontal arm thereof extending sufiiciently so thatthe marking devices may move over a support 4| on which the marking tabor sheet 30 may be placed. The marking devices consist of manuals 28 and29 having cutters or punches 23 and 29' respectively so that when themanuals are depressed punch or other marks will be made on the sheet 30.The upstanding arm 21 of the support has pivotally mounted thereon at 43a lever 42 which is urged downwardly by a spring. The lower surface ofthe lever 42 is shaped and threaded so as to have a mating engagementwith the threads of the shaft 2 I. The support 22 has slidably mountedtherein a pin close switch 24 in a Attached to the manner to bedescribed later. free end of threaded shaft I is a ratchet wheel or disc36 engaged by a pawl 35. The pawl 35 is caused to have impulse operationby energization of a magnet 34 which is connectable to the currentsource I8 through what may be termed a back spacing push button 31. Themagnet 34 also controls a normally open switch 38 which when closedcompletes a circuit through the magnet 40 to the current source l8 byway of wires 39 and H. The switch 15 in the circuit of magnet I6 is partof the relay of which the magnet 40 is a part, so that when the magnet40 is energized switch l5 opens. A pawl 50 is also associated withthemagnet 40 and engages a ratchet wheel or disc 5| mounted on the shaft2|. The pawls l9 and 50 are both normally out of engagement with'theirrespective ratchet wheels 20 and 5|.

In the operation of this machine it will be re- .membered that at thestart of a recording carriage 4 is moved to the'right after a recorddisc 3 recording stylus may engage it near its center. Lever 42 of themarking device is raised and the support 2! is shifted to the extremeleft on the rods 25. The support 22 is likewise shifted to the leftuntil the pin 26 engages the end 27' of the support 21, thereby closingswitch 24. A fresh index sheet 30 is applied to the support 4| (seeFigure 3), so as to lie under the arm 21 in position so that the markingdevices 28 and 29 are at the extreme left side of the sheet 30. To startthe machine for the purpose of recording switch 3| is closed, energizingmagnet 32 and closing switch 33 in an obvious manner. The closing ofswitch 33 starts the drive motor which rotates the drive wheel l0 andwheel 9 is moved into engagement with disc 3. These devices aredisclosed in the above mentioned Proctor and Thiede application, as wellas such other necessary adjuncts including mechanism for moving therecording head 23 so that its stylus engages the record tablet 3. Thedictator then speaks into the microphone (not shown) connected to 26positioned to engage and the machine and the recording proceeds. Asspindle I revolves the switch l2-l3 is momentarily closed, once for eachrevolution thereof with the result that magnet I6 is rapidly energized,causing pawl l9 to act on the ratchet wheel 39 to rotate threaded shaft2| in small increthe dictation the dictator wishes to make a correctionin the dictation, he operates one or the other of the manuals 28 and 29to make a mark on the sheet 30, which relative to a position of thestylus on the disc 3 is in a corresponding position with respect to theindex sheet 30. Likewise, at the end of a particular piece of dictationthe proper one of the manuals is operated to indicate this.

Should the dictator wish to back space the record disc 3 for any reason,including for example the playing back of a previous portion of therecord, he operates the back spacing switch 31. It may be noted that inmachines of this type, as disclosed in the above mentioned Proctor andThiede application; a reproducing head is included which may be movedinto engagement with the record disc when desired. The dictatorrepeatedly closes switch 31 until the record is backspaced the desiredamount. The repeated closing of switch 31 causes repeated enertion ofthe magnet 34 which operating the pawl 35 causes shaft 1 to be rotatedin a reverse direction in steps through the cooperation of the ratchetwheel 36 with the pawl 35. Each encrgization of the magnet 34 closesswitch 38, thereby energizing the magnet 40. Each time the magnet 40 isenergized switch it is open and pawl 50 is operated. The opening ofswitch it breaks the circuit to magnet It so that should the switch l2|3be closed at that instant magnet It cannot be energized. This isnecessary because, of course, switch l2i3 will close .once for eachrevolution of spindle I, even though it be in the reverse direction. Theoperation of pawl 50 will cause reverse rotation of shaft 2| through itsaction on ratchet wheel causing support 21 to move slowly back towardsthe left may then proceed as hand end of the machine. As soon as thesupport 21 begins to move back it disengages the pin 28 and switch 24opens so that the circuit controlled by switch 33 may not be completedduring this time, and therefore the recording head may not be moved intoengagement with the record tablet. Or, if an automatic control forplacing it in contact with the record is employed, this circuit mayinclude switch 33 to prevent moving the recording head into engagementwith the record disc. When the machine has been back spaced the desiredamount the dictator may move the reproducing head into engagement withthe disc and playback the desired portion. It will be noted thatalthough the support 21 moved backwardly the support 22 remainsstationary. Therefore, as the support 21 moves up to the support 22,that is to the right during the play back, the dictator can readilyobserve the approach of the mechanism to the point at which back spacingbegan. At the end of the play back the support 21 will have moved up sothat it forces pin 26 to the right to close switch 24. The operator thengains control of the circuit including switch 83. The dictation beforeto the end of the recording on that particular disc. The support 21 maybe shifted about at will by simply raising lever 42, and'of course, thefollower is free to be shifted as desired.

From the above description it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that the principles of this invention may be embodied in variousphysical forms without departure from the novel subject matter thereof.I do not, therefore, desire to be strictly limited to the disclosure asgiven for purposes of illustration, but rather to the scope of theclaims granted me.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the type described, the combination including a soundrecording ma,- chine having a record tablet support,-a sound recordinghead, means for effecting relative movement therebetween in eitherdirection, a marking apparatus, electromagnetic means for operating themarking apparatus and means operated by said first means for energizingsaid electromagnetic means whereby the marking apparatusis at all timespositioned to correspond to the relative position between the recordtablet and the recording head.

2. In a machine of the type described, the combination including a ebundrecording machine having a record tablet support, a sound recordinghead, means for effecting relative movement therebetween in eitherdirection, a marking apparatus, electrical means. controlled bysaidfirst means for interconnecting the marking apparatus with the soundrecording machine, and an index sheet associated with the marking devicewhereby the marking device is at all times in a position with respect tothe index sheet corresponding to the relative position between therecord tablet and the recording head.

3. In a machine of the type described, the combination including a soundrecording machine having a record tablet support,- a sound recordinghead, means for effecting relative movement therebetween in eitherdirection, a marking device, means actuated by said first means foreffecting step by step movement of the marking device in eitherdirection, and means operated by said first means for controlling themeans for moving the marking device whereby the marking device moves ineither direction concurrently with the recording machine to indicate therelative position between the recording head and the record tablet.

4. In a machine of the type described, e combination including a soundrecording in;-

. chine having a rotatable record tablet support,

a sound recording head, means for effecting relative rotational andlongitudinal movement there-. between, a marking device, means forefiecting movement of the marking device in either direction, and meanscontrolled by the rotation of the record tablet support for controllingthe means for moving the marking device whereby the marking device movesin either direction concurrently with the recording machine to indicatethe relative position between the recording head and the record tablet.

5. In a machine of the type described the combination including a soundrecording machine having a movable record support, a recording head,means for causing rotational and rectilinear movement of said support, aremotely situated indicating and marking device, and means subject tothe rotational movement head, means for causing rotary and linear move--ment of said support in eitherdirection, a remotely situated indicatingand marking device, means actuated by the rotation of the record supportfor operating the markingdevice'conjointly with the linear movement ofthe record support whereby the marking device is at any instant in aposition corresponding to'the relative position between the recordsupport and a the recordinghead, and means controlled by the markingdeviceforrendering the-recording head inoperative upon backward linearmovement of the record. support.

combination including a carriage supported for linear movement, arotatable record spindle mounted on said carriage, means for causing '7.In av machine of the typedscribed, the

combination including a carriage supported'for linear movement, arotatable; record spindle mounted on said carriage, meansfor causingmovement of the carriageand spindle in a forward direction, anelectromagneticaliy operatedmarking device, means'operated bysaidspindle for actuating said marking device in timed relation with themovement of said carriage, and manually controlled electromagnetic meansfor causing synchronous 8. In a machine of the type described, the

movement of the carriage and spindle in a forward direction, anelectromagnetically operated marking device, means operated by saidspindle for actuating said marking device in timed relation with themovement of said carriage. manually controlled electromagnetic means forcausing synchronous reverse movement oi said carriage and markingdevice, a recording head, and means controlled by said marking devicefor rendering the recording head inoperative when the marking device isoperated in a reverse direction.

9. In a machine of the type described, the combination including acarriage supported for linear: movement, a rotatable record spindlemounted son-- said vcarriage, means'for causing movement-of the carriageand spindle in-a forward direction, an electromagnetically operatedmarking device, means operated by said spindle for-actuating saidmarking device in timed relation with the movement of'said carriage,manually controlled electromagnetic means for causing'synchronousreverse movement of said everse-m'ovement of said I carriage and markingdevice.

carriage and marking device,.a recording head,

and-means'controlled by said marking device for a rendering therecording head inoperative when the marking device ispperated in areverse direction, said last means rendering the recording headoperative upon return of the v marking deviceto the position from whichit began reverse movement.

HENRY P. CLAUSEN.

